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The Devil is Alive and Well

Now I know what the Bible meant about not giving in to temptation.

You see, I’ve got these two friends. I’ll call them Richard and Thon. Both have become great friends over the past year as we’ve trained and run together with Gilbert’s Gazelles. They’ve seen me at my worst (i.e. 5:30am with no makeup) and they’ve heard me talk relentlessly about my best. We train together, have breakfast together, discuss relationships, homes, work, family, etc. They are a positive influence in my life.

Last night, however, Satan took over my wonderful friends and I came face to face with temptation. Who won?

This has been a rough week at work. I’ve been short of sleep due to airline mishaps which got me home at 6am on Wednesday morning. That was just enough time to come home, take a shower and head into work. I’ve also been trying to get my place ready to put on the market, and although it seems like an easy enough task, it has become slightly laborious!

Last night, my goal was to come home from work, lay down for about 1/2 hour, cook a quick dinner and then begin the cleaning process. On task: cleaning the oven, dusting and cleaning all of the ceiling fans, cleaning the blinds and scouring the baseboards. I don’t have a dirty house (or so I thought), but let’s face it. These are the little things we overlook in our normal “June Cleaver” moments. I also wanted to vacuum the house as the steam cleaners were coming today.

All was on plan. I sent Richard and Thon a text message letting them know that I couldn’t make it to Happy Hour. We try to get together over a margarita every now and then instead of just Gatorade and Clif Shots. Shawn was working late so it was just me and my chores. I got home, plopped down on the couch and very quickly heard the familiar “bling” of a text message. And then another…Text Message received from Richard with a photo attached of two margaritas. “Wish You Were Here.” (7:19pm) I started thinking…I can make it. I can always clean over the weekend. I sent a text back. “You are Killing Me!” I could feel myself buckling under the peer pressure.

7:27pm Another Text from Richard “It’s Not Too Late. Tequila is a cure for sleeplessness!”OK–now I’m torn. My spelt pasta with chicken and spinach was boiling, but chips, salsa and enchiladas sounded much better. Still, I wanted to be strong. I had my iPod on and I was dancing around the kitchen with Windex and a paper towel singing “I Will Survive.”

By this time, I had definitely resolved to staying home. The restaurant is a mere 10 minutes from my house, but it was also the Night of “First Thursday” on South Congress which meant that parking and crowds would be a nightmare. Call me old, but the thought of fighting massive crowds had no appeal to me. Unfortunately, the thought of being with my friends did.

8:57pm Another Text from Richard with a photo of fun people eating good food at Guerros. “MMMM…Food” By this point, I had already eaten and was knee deep in cleaning.

9:21pm I sent a text back “mmmm…sleep”

Then the real fun began as my friends were apparently strolling down galleries and shops of South Congress.

9:55pm Text from Richard with photo of the movie poster from “Reefer Madness”9:56pm Text from Thon with photo of a monkey smoking a pipe10:29pm Text fron Richard with photo of Thon and a cigarette in his mouth with the message “Time to Start”10:34pm my final text message in response to Thon and the cigarette “Don’t Do It!”

10:45pm I turned my phone off and got ready for bed. I accomplished most of my cleaning tasks, had a healthy dinner AND still managed to “hang” with my friends in spirit.

The devil came ringing on my cell phone last night, but I didn’t answer (even though I did send him a few text messages!)

The fun part–I get to run with them bright and early tomorrow morning for a nice 14 miler. Now, that’s temptation I’ll give into.

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